u/-Arachnophiliac-

Due to Amazon taking a frickin’ month to deliver the last volumes of Vixen War Bride and life being a general mess recently, I haven’t had time to put together much in the way of reviews. So here’s something a little different: Arachnophiliac’s “Annals of the Abandoned,” brief reviews of the books I couldn’t be bothered to complete for whatever reason.

Life is too short to waste on books that are uninteresting. But rather than hate on things I didn’t finish – hate being just as much a waste of time – it’s more edifying to critically examine why different books failed to capture my interest.

A book’s inclusion here does not mean that it is necessarily bad, merely that it wasn’t to my taste or failed to hold my attention. A piece of media doesn’t need to be awful for me to drop it; it just has to be less interesting or emotionally engaging than the myriads of other options. Nor does it mean that it would fail you. Everything here reflects merely my own tastes. Let’s begin…

The Abandoned:

In no particular order of either time or merit:

Blackwood Milk Farm by Eden Redd: This book was the literary equivalent of ‘porn with plot.’ While the premise was intriguingly lurid, the execution was rather bland and the prose lifeless. What plot there was serves only to loosely connect sex scenes, and their frequency quickly became tedious rather than titillating. I dropped this out of sheer boredom. RFM exists on a continuum of spice and story, and I begrudge none their preferences, but I need a little more narrative and personality than was on offer here.

Five Golden Coins by M. E. Thorne: I’ve actually enjoyed Thorne’s other work, but this was a miss for me. Unlike Hearthomancy, the MC was too bland to latch onto: no real personality, motivations or goals, nor showing any distress over finding himself in a video game dungeon with no memory of his past or identity. While finding yourself in a game world might be enough for LitRPG fans to self-insert, it isn’t enough for me, nor was the world unique enough to hold my attention. It felt like reading a dispassionate Let’s Play of the world’s most derivative MMORPG. If anyone has read it and it gets better, let me know and I might grant it a second chance.

A Touch of Enchantment by Derek Desmond: I’ve heard accusations that this was written with AI, but I will not attribute to AI what can be explained by amateur writing. It started off well enough, but the overly florid prose made reading tedious. Such narration is fine – welcome even – when setting the scene, but when action beats pause to examine the poetic artistry of a lamp falling to the ground, you’re just being overdramatic. That and the odd continuity errors made it an easy drop. I’m no stranger to dull verbosity; I once slogged my way through Atlas Shrugged after all. But this was even more of a chore to read.

Boundless by Miranda Saphire: I picked this up based on a monstergirl rec and made it about 60 pages in before something else – I forget what – caught my attention and I never bothered going back. Perhaps the rather, um…  extended list of content warnings at the front gave me subconscious pause. Call me coward if you will, but I’m not feeling brave enough to get back into a book with such listed delights as pegging, bondage, spanking, edging, and (I quote) “male character growing breasts.” If I’d gotten the content warning ahead of time, I doubt I would have even started, but if anything listed tickles your testicles, more power to ya.

Ranger of the Outer Rim by Travis Crowe: To quote Peter Griffin “It insists upon itself.” It’s a story that seems to be trying hard to be gritty while not having the writing chops to make it impactful. I was not sure why I should care about the main lead or want to see him succeed, nor was I entirely sure what his goals were other than to be grim and broody. It’s far from awful, but again, I just have more interesting things to read and the promise of an eventual harem isn’t enough to slog through bland writing.

Lamentations of the Turnip Farmer by Snekguy: Might trigger a few readers here, so let me preface: Snekguy is a skilled and creative writer, and I enjoyed his short story in the Anthology, and frankly, this is written well for what it is… but it is not for me. I found the MC to be a rather dull character, a man once again with no motivation or goals, nor personality beyond blandly sarcastic. I’m not even sure what the plot is outside of a single repeated joke. I’m neutral on orc girls, and slice-of-life is not my preference, but if either is yours, you might enjoy. For me, I would have liked it more as a short story.

Innocent Devil’s Harem by Kaizer Wolf: This one was free, so I gave it a try. But as they say, easy come, easy go. It’s not bad, but also doesn’t really do much beyond basic harem formula with passable prose. The male lead was alright, but the world and setup failed to entice. Thinking on it a little more, part of the problem is pacing. There isn’t much mystery to the MC nor does tension have time to build: things are revealed and conflict settled too quick. That’s likely in order to get to the real point of building the harem, but if your plot and characterizations are second thought to collecting girls like Pokémon, your book is not for me.

…And the Not-Quite Yet:

These I actually intend to finish at some point, so they are not yet truly abandoned. For now, though, it’s still technically DNF.

Harsh Starlight by M. E. Thorne: Poor guy made this list twice in addition to getting a separate long form critique from me. It’s nothing personal, man, I promise. If it’s any consolation, the fact that I’m willing to try more of your writing puts you in a class above most here. And I actually made it 2/3rds through this one before newer and shinier books distracted, further than any of the others listed. If I was more familiar with WH40K I think it’d be more engaging, but there is at least some solid plotting and worldbuilding, the MC has clear goals, and he is active in getting there. As far as pulp sci-fi harem goes, it’s pretty good, and I would actually recommend checking it out. Now that it’s finally in paperback, it’s likely to earn a more permanent place in the library and get off this list for good.

WYLAMG: Velise by Cebelius: Seriously? This one should have been right up my spider-loving alley, and I had high hopes for it. It’s very well written, though it goes into a bit more politics and society than I like. But it’s also Kindle exclusive, which is a recurring theme for many of these. Both this and the previous entry were victims of how I subconsciously treat digital books, which is unfortunate. Again, newer physical books came in and this got shoved aside. I keep forgetting I even have it, to be honest.

Captive Bride by Bonnie Dee: I debated putting this on the list as I am kind of still reading and do intend to finish, but it’s also nowhere near priority. The plot, prose and leads are all good, but despite having dual POV it’s also solidly RFW and not quite to my tastes. And per the theme, it’s Kindle exclusive, which means I forget about it easier.

The Analysis:

Now, in addition to being a pretentious critic, I’m also a mathematician, so I must analyze. Let’s crunch some numbers for the library, shall we?

RFM Paperback Titles = 47

-        Less Completed (39)

-        Less TBR (6)

Yields 2 DNF => 4% DNF, 13% TBR, 83% Completed

 

RFM Kindle Titles = 23

-        Less Completed (13)

-        Less TBR (2)

Yields 8 DNF => 35% DNF, 8% TBR, 57% Completed

 

Monoromance Titles = 42

-        Less Completed (33)

-        Less TBR (7)

Yields 2 DNF => 4% DNF, 17% TBR, 79% Completed

 

Harem Titles (Sequel Inclusive) = 28

-        Less Completed (20)

-        Less TBR (1)

Yields 7 DNF => 25% DNF, 4% TBR, 71% Completed

Of note, only 3/13 harem series have been continued past volume 1 => 23% Overall continuation Rate (alternatively, 3/7 or 43% when excluding titles that were DNF’d in volume 1)

 

Parting Thoughts:

The vast majority of stories here are Kindle exclusive, due to how I use my Kindle. Being convenient, I take it when I might have a few minutes to spare for reading. But that makes me treat reading on it as a filler activity rather than a deep-focus activity, something that I pick up and put down with little thought. As such, I tend to treat the material on it the same way, almost disposable.

Paperback has both a larger sunk cost and a physical presence, both of which prevent me from forgetting it for long. For a digital book I barely ‘see’ and spent maybe $2-3 on? That’s much easier to write off. For all the authors out there, make of that what you will.

Taken together, though, the biggest reason I DNF is boredom, typically stemming from lackluster writing. And the worst thing that any creative work can be is boring. Make me laugh, make me cry, make me think, make me curious, or even make me angry enough to hate-read, but make me feel something. Any work of fiction has only a narrow window to capture some feeling before I pursue something better. For me personally (whether harem or mono), it needs to be a relatable or fascinating MC and/or an intriguing plot/mystery. Just the promise of ‘there will be tits’ is not enough.

All this is just my situation, however. The genre is wide, and there is room for a lot outside of any individual preference. I would be curious to hear from others their reasons for dropping a book.

Summary:

While not the most profound of stories in the RFM space, Peter North’s Fantastic Love Collection was a light and enjoyable series of monoromances. If you are looking for a quick monstergirl fix, a story with low-stakes and tasteful levels of spice, they are worth checking out. Each is a standalone story that can be enjoyed independently.

Overview:

Doing a deep dive on any one of these stories would be overkill – the narratives and characterization in each is fairly simple – thus I’m grouping them together.

All four books share a similar narrative structure: down-on-his-luck MC meets magical girlfriend, solves the problem she is facing, and on the way finds his place in the world, and they all live happily ever after. It’s all very basic in terms of plotting, but it’s written competently enough. To the author’s credit, there is clear narrative structure, with a defined conflict that is eventually resolved. The characters are workable, if not particularly memorable. The male leads tend towards the self-insert everyman rather than complex personality, though this is more by authorial choice rather than by poor writing, making it a little easier to forgive. For the most part the FMCs are marginally better, each having some fear or goal that drives them into the MC's arms.

Tonally the stories are all very light and feel-good – don’t expect deep reflections on the human condition or anything – but go in with the right expectations and it can be a fun time. After all, if women can have their saccharine Hallmark romances, then men certainly can too. Gender equality, everyone. If you want a heavy, emotional ride, I suggest looking elsewhere. That’s observation, not criticism. Not every story needs to be a rollercoaster of emotions, and sometimes it’s ok to just turn off the brain and enjoy light entertainment. I would classify these stories as fitting a similar niche as beach reads and airport novels.

Each book has explicit scenes with slight fetish content. If you are looking for smut-heavy reading, this will likely be too slow and too little for your tastes. The monstergirl content is also lighter than other works in the genre: it leans more towards girl-in-mild-cosplay than, say, HMOFA. Much of that is corollary to the aforementioned tone. Rather than delve into the details of how monstergirl biology or relationships might work, it’s mostly flavoring to an otherwise standard romance.

All that said, I don’t think it’s entirely fair to be harsh towards the collection. Judge art by what it is trying to be, not what it has no ambition being. As quick, pulp-romance flings they hold up alright, and I’m glad I picked them up. I’ve read some of Peter North’s other works, and I do think that he is a competent writer who accomplishes what he set out to do here. And for my own tastes at least, these books did check several of my boxes: mono instead of harem, not LitRPG, and some measure of plot instead of meandering slice-of-life. I’ve also willingly re-read Succubus and Dragon Pepper, so count that in their favor.

Monstergirl Quickies:

Of the four books, Goblin and Catgirl are easily the weakest. Goblin is (I believe) the author’s first foray into the space and it does show. Mind you, this is not a criticism; writing is an art that takes practice and early efforts will necessarily be flawed. The basic plot is that the MC quits his job after a coworker steals credit for his work. He moves to a remote cabin to start fresh, whereupon he meets the goblin girl who emerges from the basement, and somehow everything works out in life. A true Christmas miracle! It’s a decent enough read, but much like its FMC, this book is very short, and that does limit some of the development. Also, naming the antagonist Chad is just a bit too on the nose. If you enjoy goblin ladies, it’s a serviceable novella.

Catgirl was my least favorite, although this is mostly due to taste. I don’t particularly like cats and I’ve always felt that catgirls were overrated and overdone. Here, the MC is a pulp fiction author vacationing to find inspiration for his next work. On the way he meets the shapeshifting catgirl FMC who has escaped from some shady research facility. Together they evade her pursuers and live a tropical HEA. It had a few moments, but neither the characters nor the plot grabbed my attention and I don’t think I will ever return to it. And as I mentioned in my first review, I don’t care for anal and that was another strike against this story. Your milage may vary.

Of the other two, I’m not sure which I would choose as a favorite. Dragon Pepper was the first of the bunch I picked out, and it’s a nice fluffy read. The plot is actually a pretty good hero’s journey with some fated mates thrown in: our MC travels to Peru to rediscover his roots; then, to save his grandfather’s struggling restaurant, he ascends the mountain in pursuit of the magic peppers guarded by a mystic dragon. Upon ‘slaying’ said dragon(ess), he returns and finds a place to call home. Cheesy? Absolutely. But I enjoyed it more than I might like to admit. It has some light femdom in it, which isn’t really my thing, but it’s also not a dealbreaker. This one’s solid, and I would recommend this one first.

Succubus was also a fun read. The FMC is an upstart demon who is exiled from Hell and bound in human form until she gets a human to fall in love with her. Our MC is again a college dude trying to find direction in life. They meet, they date, they bone, he sticks up to his family, and she chooses to stay human. Roll credits. It’s formula, yes, but done well. I think my favorite scene was the morning after said boning, when the FMC realizes to her horror that she is reverting to her demonic form. It was a nice character moment, and I wish it had been played up for a bit more drama and story consequence, but I’ll take what I can get, and frankly ‘succubus in love’ is a setup I’ve always liked.

Conclusion:

I don’t mean to damn this series with faint praise, but it is a perfectly serviceable collection. Despite any criticism, I did enjoy reading the stories and would be happy for more like it, fluff or not. Harem tends to get most of the attention, so anytime I can get monoromance I’ll be happy.

It’s not likely to make anyone’s top favorites or ‘Best Of’ list, but as far as popcorn entertainment goes, the Fantastic Love Collection is decently written, and I don’t regret adding them to the shelf. Unless you are a completionist, it’s fine just to pick out the ones that appeal to you for your next easy read. Go in with the right expectations and you’ll be entertained.

Analyzing the literary merits of erotic literature is a strange endeavor, akin to critiquing the lighting, sound engineering, and camera angles of some old grindhouse flick. No one who’s there generally cares about those things, and the fact that I care likely means I’m in the wrong place. Nevertheless, I still insist that even erotic literature can be vastly improved by following the artistic rules of its medium. As exemplar, I present to you Last of Her Kind, by Annabelle Hawthorne.

Now, wild sex with a giant spider lady might not be everyone’s idea of a good time – though it certainly is mine – even so, this book has a deeply touching story about two characters finding peace from their own inner demons, and I would strongly recommend it.

This book will always have a special place for me, as it was my first RFM story, the book through which I eventually discovered this entire sub. I’ve reread it multiple times and it still hits.

Story Threads:

The story takes place in ‘73 in a small Idaho town. Our two leads, Darren and Ana, are both on the run from themselves and have settled in this town to try and find peace. Ana works as a librarian, pretending to be disabled and hiding her spider half inside a large motorized wheelchair. Darren finds a job as the library handyman, leading the two to meet and work up a relationship. Trouble comes int the form of fanatical monster hunters determined to eliminate Ana’s species. The plot revolves around the two of them building a relationship, escaping the hunters, and finding peace with themselves.

Technically this book is part of the Radley’s Home series as a spin-off, but it is self-contained and works perfectly well on its own. Amusingly enough, I actually didn’t care for the Radley series and never read past the first book, so I am judging this purely on its own merits. Tonally, it’s also much different than the Horny Monsters series, which I argue works in the story’s favor. It doesn’t shy from the darkness, but at the end love still overcomes and peace and healing can be found. The issues these characters face are not superficial, nor is this a typical power fantasy.

Predators and Prey:

The cast of the book are all wonderfully realized; they feel like actual people rather than broad archetypes. Even the side characters have a grounded-ness to them and add depth to the world our MC and FMC inhabit.

Darren, the MMC: Darren is a Vietnam vet, haunted by the memory and guilt of what happened. He’s been a drifter since returning, unable to settle anywhere for long. No self-insert cipher here; he is a deeply troubled man, but still maintains a sense of duty, honor, and hard work. His deepest desire is to finally lay the ghosts to rest, and he fears that his demons will overtake him. One minor story detail I loved was the hints that his PTSD-induced hallucinations might not entirely be in his imagination.

Ana, the FMC: Ana is an Arachne, the last of her kind, who for years has been on the run from monster hunters. She’s reclusive and distrustful, longing for a life she feels her monstrous nature denies. Her greatest fear is succumbing to her desires: it’s Darren’s arrival that sets off her mating instincts, and if you know anything about spiders, it typically doesn’t end well for the male. Her arc is about overcoming her instincts and finding peace with herself.

Jeffrey and Cyrus, the Antagonists: These two are the villains of the story, knights of “The Order,” a vaguely religious group whose mission is to hunt down monsters that are a threat to humanity. We see part of the story from their perspective, and rather than being one-dimensional mustache-twirling baddies, they have both personality and reasons for their deeds. In a bold move, they are portrayed more as tragic villains, almost sympathetic in their motivations and actions. Jeffrey is the swordsman, a crude, backwoods type. He’s talented, but impulsive and prone to violent and emotional outbursts. Cyrus is the magician, calm and collected, who acts as the voice of reason to rein in his partner’s excesses.

Tensile Strengths:

Aside from the attention to storytelling and characterization, there are a couple other notable strengths worth pointing out.

First is Ana’s nature as Arachne. She’s no girl in cosplay; she’s a monster physically and otherwise. Real thought was put into how her biology might work out in practice, and she does act very much like a spider. Rather than eating human food (too much of which makes her ill) she builds webs to capture prey and consumes them as a spider: envenomating and drinking their liquefied remains. Fun, huh? She uses venom in interesting story ways, and like spiders do, her body has fine hairs that allow her enhanced senses. It’s all considerably well-thought out if you ever want to read up on spiders. (It’s a good book!)

Another key strength is the story antagonists, Jeffrey and Cyrus. Their mission is to protect humanity from the monsters that prey on them, and in a real way they’re actually right, or at least not completely wrong. It’s made very clear in the story through Ana’s recollections that Arachne as a species truly are pure monsters who use humans as food. Ana is the odd one out, one whose mind developed off and gave her a measure of curiosity about the people they preyed on. While they are certainly jerks and clearly evil, the antagonists come across more as well-intentioned extremists than cardboard cutout villains.

Though the book is relatively short, it’s not longer than it needs to be. The pacing is brisk, and every scene has its place in furthering the plot or revealing more about the leads. Stories in RFM too often get bogged down in frivolous scenes that add nothing to the core of the story (see my MGIS review). It’s also competently edited, free of the grammar issues that plague self-published works.

No book is perfect, though this one fares better than most. The cover art isn’t the greatest I’ve ever seen, not going to lie, but it’s also far from the worst. Story-wise, Darren’s arc is strong, but Ana’s is slightly less so. The romance is still a little quicker than I’d prefer (I like my stories more slow-burn), though that it partly due to the book’s brevity.

For those looking for erotic content, this book delivers in spades, containing multiple explicit and detailed scenes. Spice isn’t actually a huge draw for me, but this book makes it a part of the story in a thoughtful way, and the story would arguably be lessened without it. Both the leads and the plot climax around the same time, which I feel more stories ought to do. And while there is certainly plenty of spice for such a short book, it never distracts from the main plot.

Tying it all Together:

Last of Her Kind is an amazing and touching book, well-written with characters who I want to see thrive. Actual thought was put into both the MC’s struggles and the FMC’s monster side and both shape the story in meaningful ways.

The real thing for me, however, is how this story exemplifies the thread that connects all my other top favorite RFM works (for those curious: Orc Charioteer Bride, Vixen War Bride, Rhenna). Whether harem or mono, all romance is wish-fulfillment on some level. (Which, incidentally, is why harem generally doesn’t work for me: it’s no longer my wish. And this story might not fulfill your wishes either, and that’s OK!) The stories that resonate with me are almost monoromance by default. But this story does fulfil a deep wish of mine, and I’m not talking just about the spider parts.

Past all monstergirl appeal and even ignoring spice content, the RFM stories that touch me on a deep and visceral emotional level all share this thread, this one core idea that resonates the most, and that it this:

Tell me a story of two broken people who find solace and healing in each other’s arms.

I ask for nothing more in an RFM story than this.

MGIS is a fun - if flawed - sci-fi harem adventure, one that I enjoyed far more than the writing merited. The setting IN SPACE is a nice change of pace from the typical vaguely medieval default, and there are some genuinely solid action scenes and story beats. Unfortunately, the execution as a whole lacks meaningful coherence, and in retrospect it hasn’t held up well to scrutiny.

Strap in boys; here there be monster(girl)s.

To start, I’m not the first to critically review this series, and I will try to avoid repetition, though I will echo some similar sentiments from that post and its comments.

As I was finishing up my first RFM review, I thought of this series (it being the other harem series I enjoyed), and I realized how much it fell short compared to what I was praising in Hearthomancy. So, as both literary exercise and a way to sort out my own thoughts, I decided to turn a critical eye on one of the first series I read in the RFM space.

Aside from the most recent two, I’ve read the series through twice since starting it in October of 2025. I didn’t reread everything for the retrospective here; I’m basing my thoughts on what stuck long after reading. And while I am going to be harsh, I actually did enjoy the series and plan to keep up with it.

‘Recently, in a Galaxy Nearby…’

MGIS does have a pretty good setup. Our MMC Desmond, at a dead-end in life, is suddenly drafted as a space wizard. Turns out a galactic empire has discovered Earth, claimed jurisdiction over it, and now requires tribute in the form of people with the genetic ability to become an ‘Adept’ and serve their galactic military. There are holes in reality (‘rifts’) that need space wizards to loot and fix before they go critical and erase lightyears of space. Most of the events of the first few books revolve around training for and going on these space-dungeon delves, with a deranged rift cult and political machinations showing up in later books.

Oh, and the universe is filled with monstergirls. Horny, dick-starved monstergirls.

Outside Earth, the universe is majority female. Harems are the norm, and interspecies couples are common. It’s even lampshaded, with them basically telling our MC ‘Turns out most species are bipedal/mammalian and capable of interbreeding. Must be convergent evolution or something. We don’t get it either.’ That handwaving acknowledgement actually goes a long way to making things more believable, and it does address one of my primary issues with the harem genre: why a bunch of girls would ever be willing to share a random dude. There’s a lot you could explore about society with this setup. Notice the operative word could. I’ll get to that point later.

The work is clearly LitRPG adjacent but avoids some of the genre pitfalls. Desmond is a space wizard with the ‘enhancement’ class, and there’s spells and space-dungeon delves, but it’s very light on the stats, which I appreciated. Past the first book or so they become almost irrelevant. Sure, the rifts are just dungeon dives, but being IN SPACE makes it a little fresher, and there is an undercurrent of light-cosmic horror. The space magic is a decent enough system too: mana is essentially a form of crystalizing radiation, useful but deadly toxic, save to those with the ability to channel it into spells. Spells are mostly limited to the users' imagination, allowing for a wide variety of effects to be deployed.

The action, when we get to it, is always a fun ride. The rifts are varied and unique, even if they don’t go as uncanny and eldritch as they could have. There is also a wide variety of other action set pieces: duels, chases, space battles, and daring raids. If there is anything that keeps me engaged through the series, it has been these scenes. The story focus in the later books revolves around forming a clan and making their place in the larger cosmos. That’s a great setup too, and I hope that the story homes in on that without getting sidetracked.

The Crew:

As expected, our main cast isn’t deep, but most of them are at least entertaining characters. Some of their abilities are a little too convenient, but that’s to be expected.

Desmond (MMC and Space Wizard): Des isn’t a complex character. By and large he follows the standard harem ‘nice guy’ mold. He’s bitter at the government for his situation while also very grateful for how things turned out. He has an impulsive streak and can be creative under pressure, and he’s willing to try some dangerous methods at great personal cost to protect what he has.

The comments in the earlier review described him as a ‘male Karen,’ and to some extent I think that’s an accurate assessment. It’s good that this story wasn’t written in first-person, otherwise he’d likely be insufferable. Still, he has his better moments (usually in action scenes), and he dreams of enjoying a peaceful life with his ladies, building up his newformed clan. He’s there for us to project onto, and I can accept that to some degree.

Chloe (Cowgirl): The first girl, top-wife and team mom, Chloe is always the closest to Des, physically and otherwise. Calm and mothering, she makes sure everyone is taken care of and their needs met. She has a disabled younger brother that she enlisted to try and support. The team’s tank and muscle.

Reagan (Afro’d Grey Orc, sorta): An ex-ganger, Rae joined the military as witness protection/parole. She’s looking to leave the past behind, but it has a way of catching up. Boisterous, eager, and just a little crazy, when she’s around, shit’s blowing up. She’s fun to be with, and she and Chloe seem to get most of the page time.

Sasha (Orc-Catgirl): Shy and insecure, Sasha is a refugee that joins up after a rescue mission since she has nowhere else to go. More technically adept than physically strong, she looks up to Chloe. The tool builder/mechanic.

Uh... Lilia… I think? (Blue Elf): Can barely remember her name, which says a lot. Can’t remember much about her other than ‘acrobatic exhibitionist.’ She isn’t much of a character, just a list of attributes and quirks.

Audra (Space Snek): Defector in hiding, she’s more proper than the others; more of an intellectual as well. She’s also on the run from her family. If Chloe is the team mom, she’s team manager and handles the political and financial end of things.

Bell (Gargoyle): Reserved and experienced, Bell is a bit more stoic than the rest of the gang. Marksman and scout, and also apparently a computer programmer? That last part was a bit too convenient for believability.

Some criticized the lack of interpersonal tension in the group and how smoothly the relationships go. Despite not really caring for harem, I never saw this as an issue. It’s part of the buy-in for the genre, and sometimes we just want feel-good adventure where everyone gets along. There is plenty more going on for the team to deal with, and I would argue that trying to add inter-team drama would only choke an already lethargic plot.

The Spice Must Flow:

And flow it does. Every book has 1-2 extended scenes going into explicit detail of just how the flow goes. They are clearly marked, however, in case you feel like skipping them, which I did upon reread. And to the author’s credit, they do come as the culmination of a character arc, integrating things far better into the story than is typical in the genre. While all the ladies are basically ready for romance immediately, the writing does take the time for each to be a part of the group before joining the cuddle puddle.

I do raise the same critique here as in my other review, that the writing in these scenes leans more towards the technical, rather than the emotional, aspects of what is going on. And yes, our MC has magic harem-dick and can chain-bang his entire 6-girl entourage to exhaustion. There are implied orgies and frequent off-screen boning, along with both explicit and implicit lady-love between some of the harem. Your preferences may vary on if this is good or bad. Me, I just largely ignored it.

Disturbances in the Force:

The comments in the previous review already brought up some good points, so I don’t want to be too repetitive. Here’s my additions:

The more I’ve thought about it, the less this series has held up to scrutiny. The most damning thing I can say about it is this: for the first 6 of 8 books in the series, I could not tell you what the plot of any one book is. Not because I’ve forgotten what happened; I could list who joined the harem and some of the action set pieces and events. But I couldn’t explain the plot, because ultimately the first 6 books are little more than loosely connected scenes rather than a unified story arc. Sure, you could say it’s ‘Desmond goes to Hogwarts… IN SPACE,’ but that’s the setup, not the plot. There’s a crazed cult that the team is vaguely trying to stop, but they don’t show up in force until around book 6.

I wholeheartedly agree with earlier comments, in that the books largely boil down to ‘and then this happened, and then this happened, then A BIG THING HAPPENED, and then they fucked. That’s all folks. See you next episode.’ This is a series that is in dire need of editing and perhaps even a complete narrative overhaul. Taken individually, the scenes are solidly written and enjoyable. But they don’t cohere well into an organized narrative.

The worldbuilding is also a missed opportunity. Nominally, this is a female-led society where males are expected to be the docile homemakers, but aside from a few isolated comments and some one-off side characters, Desmond never faces meaningful systemic stereotyping or expectations that he must overcome. There are hints of it, but they remain just that and this was a huge missed opportunity to feature character growth and agency. In fairness, this series is meant as wish fulfillment, but I can’t help but wish that it tried to be more.

I also can’t escape the sense that the author making it up as they go. There is little foreshadowing for the things that happen, particularly in the first few books and likely due to the aforementioned plotting problems. Even what little there may be is buried beneath all the irrelevant scenes of training, talking, and monstergirl boning. Additionally, some arcs are resolved far too soon. Chloe’s medical debt, for instance, is resolved almost immediately instead of being the proverbial albatross that hampers the team. The leads rarely struggle for any length of time. All of this could be avoided with proper planning, but with the pace of releases, I don’t think the author is plotting ahead much. To be charitable, this is likely an effect of being a web-serial, but it does weigh the series down for me.

Editing and planning aside, I also think that the series is struggling to be two different things at the same time. One the one side it’s a laid-back slice of life harem in space, while on the other it’s a high-stakes political/military thriller. While it's not be impossible to blend two genres together, I'd argue that it should have picked a lane and stayed there. The slice of life digressions distracts from plot development, and the action and political intrigues are tonally at odds with the cozy vibes.

‘There is no peace among the stars…’

I’ll confess that I did enjoy the series far more than its literary merits warranted, and I do intend to follow it to its conclusion – out of sunk cost and inertia if nothing else. But when I try to justify why I had fun, I come up short. And after all this, I’m not sure that I could recommend it without major caveats.

I think I enjoy the ideas that this work presents more than the actual execution. Taken individually, there are some strong action and character beats, and the worldbuilding has genuinely cool concepts:

• Luckless MC thrown to the (alien) wolves so that a corrupt and scheming government can stall for time
• Dangerous tears in reality that must be dealt with before they annihilate entire solar systems, not to mention a mad cult that worships them
• A matriarchal/male-scarcity system that looks down on both males and ‘primitive’ species as inferior
• A team of misfits and rejects who bring their own personal struggles that must be healed
• A mad galaxy of slavers, pirates, drug runners, monsters, and even eldritch things that lurk just beneath fragile reality

Taken together, though, everything becomes less than the sum of its parts, and I think that it’s been my imagination filling in things that aren’t there in the text. If you are just looking for some episodic space harem slice-of-life, it’s far from the worst and plenty of fun at its best. But I can’t help but wish it had higher ambitions, or at least stronger writing.

I am also a little uncertain as to where things can go from book 8. The writing is finally getting to proper story form (though no less in need of an editor), but the entire harem is presumably assembled and their arcs resolved. You can’t add more members to the pile without things becoming unwieldy, and introducing sudden hidden backstories is going to run into retcon problems. Hopefully I can be surprised in a good way here.

Writing is an art form that takes a lot of practice, and in all fairness the latest book has shown improvement. I do hope that the author continues to refine their skills with time and effort. From what I can tell, this series is the author’s darling.

But, as I’ve heard literary advice goes, sometimes you need to kill your darlings.

I get a little jealous sometimes seeing the beautiful setups others here have. My collection is an eclectic mix of hardcovers and mass-markets, books I've bought new and those I've scavenged secondhand from library book sales. It's not the prettiest display, sitting in the corner of the basement, and it lacks some of the decorative flourishes I've seen others do. But then again, our libraries mirror our histories and personalities, and this is just who I am.

It's the work of about 20 years of collection, and I'm pleased with how it has grown. They surround me like friends, and I can always find solace in their company. Hopefully in a year or two there will be even more to share.

Thanks for checking it out. Hope you enjoy!

Summary: If you’re looking for an above-average harem/LitRPG romp, this is a series worth checking out, especially now that it’s available in omnibus format. Hearthomancy is a solid pulp-fiction RFM adventure with enjoyable characters, intense magic battles, and an interesting system and worldbuilding. While it largely sticks to harem adventure formula, it’s well executed and succeeds at what it sets out to be.

Want the deep dive? Well, stay awhile and listen…

No review is completely unbiased, so in fair disclosure I’ll be honest and say that this series is not one that I would normally get into, which makes my enjoyment of it a feat on its own. In gaming parlance, it was rolling at a -4 penalty:

1.     It’s harem: I prefer monoromance.

2.     It’s LitRPG: For reasons outside the scope of this review, I don’t care much for the genre.

3.     It’s in first-person: Ever since the literary abomination that was Ready Player One, I have an instinctual dislike for this style.

4.     It’s Kindle exclusive: Yes, that’s petty. But I prefer print, and I’ll spend money there first.

Yet despite the handicap the characters, worldbuilding, and storytelling won me over, and I would recommend that you give the series a chance as well. Admittedly, I’m not that well-read in the LitRPG genre, so I’m not in a position to judge how common anything here is in the space at large. But I can share what worked well purely from a literary standpoint.

Plot and Worldbuilding: Spoilers in this section, so be warned.

Each book of the series has its own challenge and enemy, with a grand arc tying the series together. The writing nicely incorporates elements both of traditional and cosmic horror, though never straying far tonally from feel-good pulp adventure. Not a criticism there; I appreciated those elements adding some depth to what would otherwise be a fairly standard power fantasy. For brevity’s sake, I won’t go into individual book plots, but the main storyline for the series runs thus: wizard Brent, following his dreams, takes over a historic haunted house as his personal Wizard Lair, only to find that the house is part of a cosmic prison for an eldritch demon. With the help of his lovers, he has to continually foil that being’s plots to escape, all while facing the mundane challenges of daily life and pursuing his dream.

The main setting of Rotwood Manor, Brent’s Wizard Lair, is a suitably bizarre location, a house and land that are ‘bigger on the inside’ and whose reality is just a little flexible. Rooms and realms appear and vanish, specters of the past linger, and there’s even a grim cemetery housing all who’ve died on the property (and it’s distressingly big). Throughout the story, our leads go through other uncanny locations where reality bends, and I wish more authors would lean into this strangeness of magic rather than reducing it to ‘fireball for 1d6 DMG’. Here, magic, although frequently boosting mundane skills and defined by levels, is also something otherworldly.

One other thing I appreciated about this series was the way that the RPG system was integrated into storytelling. Rather than just existing for convenience, the System arrives on Earth, bringing sudden connections to new worlds and new powers for everyday people. The System itself is also sentient, which I found a cool Lovecraftian turn, and has its own goals and enemies. It’s also noticeably not omnipresent (and there were traces of magic on Earth before it), and multiple times the leads run into things that are outside of its jurisdiction. From a genre outsider’s perspective, I would say that the author does a great job making the RPG system serve the story rather than the story existing to feature the system. I also liked that the story examines, even if briefly, how sudden videogame rules might impact society.

The narratives in each book are competently put together, and believe me, I do notice and appreciate when RFM authors follow basic literary rules. Plot progression follows proper 3-act structure, attention is given to details foreshadowing the climax, and the narrative doesn’t stray much into pointless scenes. That’s Storytelling 101, but again, I’m amazed by how frequently this is neglected.

The Characters: The main cast of Hearthomancy aren’t morally complex (nor do they need to be; it’s pulp adventure), but for the most part they’re interesting and relatable, and that alone carries a lot of weight.

Brent Owens (‘Hearthomancer’ and MMC): Our POV for the series, Brent is a man on a mission, namely, to become a powerful wizard with his own wizard lair. Right off the bat he comes across as an interesting character. Authors in the space seem to forget that characters need dreams, fears, and goals outside of ‘level up.’ Here though, we see that Brent has a clear goal and is wiling to work hard, take risks, and blaze his own path to get there. That drives and informs all his actions through the series. That’s actual character writing right there!

Aside from that, he’s otherwise the standard harem lead: being a decent, supportive, and endlessly loving man to his harem. Though there is an undercurrent of self-insert wish fulfillment to him and his situation, I would argue that the writing does elevate it to make it more reasonable. Thinking it over, I would say that the biggest difference is character agency. Sure, Brent stumbles into unexpected power, but it’s also a direct consequence of his choices and actions: he chooses to be a Hearthomancer and chooses the House as his Lair. He’s an active protagonist, rather than just some passive dude that things happen to.

Lorelei (ghost/familiar): Playful, supportive, cheerful, and a lover of pop culture, Lorelei is Brent’s familiar and principle cheerleader. She’s partly the reincarnation of a previous resident of the House and partly a vessel for the House itself. Her backstory and character are intimately tied to the House’s history, and she desires to see Brent succeed in his dream. While I found her annoying at times, she is a solidly written character with a unique nature.

Ayara (Drow blacksmith): The least interesting of the main cast, the most I can think to describe her is ‘hardworking.’ Her main dream is to level up her skills, which I didn’t find very compelling. She mostly serves a functional role in the story as the team’s muscle and weapons supplier and is notably absent during many scenes. You could cut out her romance angle and not much would change.

Ishikana (Arachne Scholar): My favorite of the cast, and not just because she’s an Arachne (though it helped). A cunning scholar with an incorrigible sweet tooth, she lives to acquire knowledge, and she pursues it even if that knowledge is dangerous or forbidden, something that the rest of the team has to call her out on more than once. She’s also the most scheming and does a lot to further the team’s territory and power. Her driving passion is to become the foremost scholar from her homeland. I felt her to be the strongest written and most useful of the team.

Morietta (Frost Dryad): Cold, taciturn, and aloof, Morietta dreams of restoring her fallen kingdom. She holds herself largely apart from the rest of the team, but she’s there to support when needed as their primary healer. Her species was a nice change of pace from the standard fantasy races. Easy second favorite.

Kesor (Werebadger Ranger): A former pro adventurer, she struggles with the beastly nature she was cursed with during her last dungeon raid. She dreams of finding a new place to belong. Interestingly enough, she’s also the most reluctant to join Brent’s Haunted House Harem. She comes around though.

Other considerations: The series does not skimp on the spice. Each book has typically 3-4 scenes spread throughout, and every lady gets their time on the ride. Scenes are fairly brief, detailed without being excessively lurid, and I am thankful that the author doesn’t do the zero-refractory-period/marathon-chain-boning that some harem stories have. Such unreasonable testicular fortitude is a pet peeve of mine. If you’re looking for a smut-forward work, this isn’t it. Fetish content is kept to a minimum, and there are no orgy scenes or lady-love between the haremettes.

It’d also be remiss of me not to mention the cover art, which is creatively stylized and is both eye-catching and sets the thematic tone very well. While it’s hard to appreciate it on Kindle, the author did solid work with the covers, and I wish more writers made the same effort. Had the cover been yet another AI big-boob-blonde, this would’ve been a hard pass, good writing or no.

Critiques: The story is not without its flaws, though in fairness some of my critiques are a matter of taste. The romance is a bit quick, with most of our cast of cuties being DTF and willing to share with little buildup or justification. That’s part of the genre, but still…

Additionally, from a narrative standpoint, the intimacy scenes are often sudden, and they don’t offer much in terms of character development. Like with the RPG system mentioned earlier, intimacy scenes ought to serve the story or reveal more of our cast, and I don’t feel that they did so well here. Part of the issue is that the writing during these scenes tends toward more physical description than emotional. Perhaps it’s my preference for monoromance here, but intimate scenes should have emotional climax, not just physical. And maybe I’m an outlier for this, but I don’t care for anal, and those scenes were quickly glossed over.

Outside the spice, the writing is straightforward, functional with little flourish. A bit more personality in the prose would go a long way. I caught a few minor editing errors, mostly with mistyped words (i.e. ‘enraged’ instead of ‘engaged’). Nothing that was overly distracting, but an editor would have helped. I could also do with fewer stat-screens, and the repetition of both those and skill/item descriptions was tedious.

All that said, I think the author did well on the whole with what they set out to do; I just have differing tastes. De gustibus non est disputandum.

In Conclusion: Flaws and taste aside, Hearthomancy is still a solid LitRPG/Harem read, perfect for some light, escapist reading. Despite not being a fan of the genre at large, I had fun in this world and would have stuck around for more. There was some creativity and thought put into the setting and magic, and effort was clearly put forth into plot and its execution. I’ll be checking out Harsh Starlight next from this author.

EDIT: Oh yes, should include the link to the book as well.

Yes, the steampunk/cyberpunk in the lower corner isn't RFM. And please don't judge my drinking habits.

How many people here go for physical copies? I've always preferred them whenever they are available, even if it's more expensive than a digital copy. There's just something appealing about holding a real volume in your hands and seeing a wall full of books that I'm drawn to. Now, I understand the answer is probably some variation of 'too expensive,' but what prevents more authors from offering print copies? Genuinely curious.

Also, I'm always up for rec's, so let me know what you think my shelf is missing!